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In a couple of weeks, H and I are heading to Paris, then London, a week in each city.

Asking SI members.....restaurant recommendations, non-touristy, local residents' suggestions...

Thanks very much!

~ lf

Do not have an answer for you, but will be eagerly awaiting them and writing them down for the planning of my dream trip *someday*!

Totally jealous! Have an amazing trip.

H has promised for years to take me to Paris (he was there 12 years ago). So, it's finally happening!

Our 40th anniversary celebration, a year after the fact.

So, suggestions for restaurants (moderate) would be greatly appreciated.

I visited my brother and his family in London last summer. They lived there for several years. I'll see if I can remember any of the places we ate at!

It's been several years, but La Tour D'argent was amazing. You can find it online. Not sure if you consider it moderately priced, but major restaurants in Paris just aren't at all. Hope you have fun!

I think we had the most fun randomly stopping in neighborhood bistros. We ate outside all the time and drank with every meal, lol. We met this great woman on the left bank who identified that we lived in Nevada because of "our accents." lol

The thing we missed out on in London was Indian food. We were with my parents and they weren't interested. But I swear, a pint in a pub just made me a happy girl.

Tour d'Argent is very expensive! There are other Rive Gauche restaurants that have lots of atmosphere and good food for less.

You must go to Cafė de Flore (172 Boulevard Saint-Germain) and many other cafes are really great.

There are nice restaurants in Montparnasse and the 6th arrondissement, including a great oyster bar - Le Bar à Huîtres and L'Auberge du 15 (15 Rue de la Santé) and Chez Dumonet-Josephine (117 Rue du Cherche-Midi).

Hard to go wrong!!

You *must* go for ice cream at Berthillion Glacier on Ilê de la Cité!

You *must* go for ice cream at Berthillion Glacier on Ilê de la Cité!

Ooh, I second this, but--ahem, TR--it's actually on the Ile Saint Louis Have a scoop of poire for me. Or a peche de vigne or a caramel beurre sale... or one of each.

What kind of price range are you thinking, what kind of food do you like, and what areas are you staying in? I'll pm you some suggestions.

Sacre bleu!! You are correct!!

London Brick Lane for Indian Food - looks a bit seedy but quite safe .

London Bridge Market on Sat mornings . Get off tube at Monument cross bridge Past London Bridge train station turn left towards church . Great market great food .Lovely walk up the Thames .

Jamie Oliver's in Covent Garden, what a night!

Walk the Embankment near Tower Bridge, on the east side there is a string of riverside bistros, and a French chain called Cote has a resto there, covered and heated patio right on the Thames, best of both worlds.

The calamari with pommes au gratin was amazing.

Lots of places to stop in for a Kir Royale to keep your strength up for all that walking.....

I missed the food hall at Selfridge's but I heard it's the bomb.

Cafe des 2 Moulins in Paris, my friends were there a few weeks ago, it's where Amelie was filmed. Classic, lots of neon and stainless steel. That's all I know about Paris at the moment.

Pic of the calamari. That is the Thames on the right.

[This message edited by FaithFool at 1:31 PM, October 5th (Saturday)]

Chez Andre!!!

The food is to DIE for, it's not terribly expensive and they were very kindly to people who were obviously ( ) not locals.

It's been a couple years, but I can still taste the garlic sautéed pearl potatoes.

We stayed at a hotel on Rue Barie off the Champs d'Elysee, and it was not that far from there. You MUST check them out!!

(12 Rue Marbeuf, 75008 Paris)

[This message edited by Jrazz at 3:20 PM, October 5th (Saturday)]

Ile Saint Louis

Are tourists even allowed to eat there?!? I remember walking through the neighborhood and it was like everyone was staring at us, pleading with their eyes for us to take our American-clad booties out of their territory.

We had a lovely dinner at The Whitechapel Art Gallery on Whitechapel High St – great place to go if you intend to visit more unusual places, like Brick Lane, Petticoat Lane and other stuff in the East End (where I’m from and where DS25 lives) – and you can “do” Jack the Ripper walks if you want to frighten yourself – LOL. (See if you can view this BBC video:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-18463147

And if you go to the East End, make sure you go to The Prospect of Whitby on Wapping Wall. It’s very trendy now, not so much when I used to go, but it’s still got a really good atmosphere and is right on the Thames. Oh, and The Banker is pretty good (Cousin Lane, Cannon Street, London, EC4R 3TE), but that’s in the finance section of the City, still east, but nearer to the usual tourist attractions. Well, it’s good for a drink and people watching. It’s not a tourist pub. That’s on the Thames too, under one of the railway bridges. You can google these places.

Oh, be sure to go on the Eye, you can see for miles, but book your ticket ahead to save queuing.

Now one of my favourite places is The British Library on Euston Rd next to St Pancras Station (fabulous piece of renovated architecture) is an amazing place to visit and has a lovely cafe. There’s an O’neills opposite, but I wouldn’t bother with that because St Pancras Station has a GREAT champagne bar – super for that tipple after getting off the Paris-London Eurostar train which pulls into St Pancras. St Pancras is my station to get back up to the Peak District, where I live.

And finally, Costa Coffees are all over now, IMHO, it is the best coffee chain around.

Have a good trip!

I stopped in for a glass of Mumm's at St. Pancras. It was tres chic. Lots of beautiful peoples.

Are tourists even allowed to eat there?!? I remember walking through the neighborhood and it was like everyone was staring at us, pleading with their eyes for us to take our American-clad booties out of their territory.

Generally-speaking, Americans would do well not to (a) advertise that they are Americans when travelling abroad these days and (b) dress more-or-less to fit in rather than how they normally dress

You'll attract a lot less attention and potentially get more out of your travels.

Yes, this is my opinion but after visiting > 40 countries and living abroad as well.

Men in any kind of shorts are going to attract stares most places (few European men wear them). They are wearing 'shants' these days though ...

Well, by now you've probably gone and returned. I love both London (relatives there) and Paris (visited last year for my 60th birthday).

And my 30th anniversary is coming up in December (New Years Eve). Trying to figure out where to go.

I'd love a cruise (I've been on 2, husband never been on one), but if he's not online for work (type A personality, absolutely CANNOT totally unplug) he will absolutely not relax, at all.

So, somewhere on land with free wifi. I'd even enjoy Florida, so I'm looking up rental vacations homes/condos. I want something VERY elegant, one bedroom (so we're not overpaying for space we don't need)...but I want the rooms large (I don't want the dining table only feet from the couch).

I thought of Paris, but not sure about the weather in December.

Looking forward, hope you had a great trip.

[This message edited by JanetS at 2:26 PM, October 6th (Sunday)]

Hello to All Responders:

Thank you very much for your suggestions. However, I did not have any internet on this trip, so I am just reading your replies now.

We returned this morning....so dealing with jet lag (5 hours time difference).

Paris, Week 1: We stayed at a lovely little hotel in the Vaugirard Arondissement. Lots of little patisseries, bistros, and boulangeries. H and I had meals in several of those, in the park, at two lovely little restaurants in Montmartre (sitting outdoors watching the people), and at the George V Restaurant beside Givenchy.

London, Week 2: Our hotel was in Kensington and we found some nearby pubs to eat, including Bill Wyman's "Sticky Fingers". H is a huge Rolling Stones fan, so he was quite happy to snap photos and view Wyman's personal collection of memorabilia. We had lunch at the Victoria & Albert Museum - quite a wonderful selection of food & beverage. We found a lovely tea shop, the Candella, on Kensington Church Street. The owner is always on the lookout for more English bone china teacups and saucers, and since my H has hundreds of them, he plans on sending her a dozen or so. We returned on Thursday.

So we didn't dine formally anywhere, but enjoyed the local fare in both cities.

AND WE HAD AMAZING WEATHER !!!

Very warm in Paris and only a sprinkling or rain last Friday whilst on the day trip to Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral and Bath.